California launches largest free school lunch program in U.S.
When classrooms in California reopen for the fall term, all 6.2 million public school students will have the option to eat school meals for free, regardless of their family’s income.
North & Central America
This archive covers progress stories from North and Central America, spanning the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the nations of Central America. Readers will find reporting on health, environment, community resilience, and policy advances across the region.
World’s biggest carbon capture plant set for Wyoming
Project Bison is slated to swing into action next year and, all going to plan, will scale up its operations by the end of the decade to suck up five million tons of CO2 each year, and safely lock it away underground.
Scientists hail autoimmune disease therapy breakthrough
Lupus remission in all five patients — that’s the striking result from a small German trial using CAR T-cell therapy, a treatment originally developed for blood cancers. Doctors collected each patient’s own T-cells, reprogrammed them to clear out the malfunctioning B cells driving the disease, and reinfused them. Months later, the patients’ immune systems had essentially rebooted: new B cells grew back, but they no longer attacked the body. None have needed lupus medication since. The lead researcher believes the same approach could help people with rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and other autoimmune conditions — opening a hopeful new chapter for millions worldwide who have long managed their illness without ever truly being free of it.
Patagonia founder gives away entire company to fight climate change
98% of the company’s total shares are now owned by a new organization a 501(c)(4) that Patagonia says will use every dollar not reinvested into the company to “fight the environmental crisis.”
Scientists achieve the impossible, safely destroy toxic ‘forever chemicals’
Even low-level exposure to these chemicals over a sustained amount of time can lead to serious health effects, including thyroid disease, reduced immune response, and several cancers.
California passes law requiring companies to post salary ranges on job listings
The law will also require California-based companies with more than 100 employees to show their median gender and racial pay gaps — a first for a U.S. state.
San Francisco decriminalizes psychedelics
City lawmakers have unanimously approved a measure calling for the decriminalization of psychedelics like psilocybin and ayahuasca.
Hawaii shuts down its last coal-fired power plant
In 2020, Hawaii’s Legislature passed a law banning the use of coal for energy production at the start of 2023.
California bans new combustion car sales from 2035
The California Air Resource Board expects this move to slash vehicle emissions – the top source of anthropogenic carbon emissions – by 50% in 2040, paving the way for a race to zero emissions by 2050.
U.S. to plant 1 billion trees as climate change kills forests
The Forest Service plans over the next couple years to scale up work from about 60,000 acres replanted last year to about 400,000 acres annually.